After years of buying retail, I decided to give thrifting for clothes a try

Thrifting has been one of the largest clothing trends over the last few years. Beautifully faded graphic tees or vintage hoodies from these stores are heavily sought among fashionistas and can even be sold at a steep profit. 

Going into this experience, I did not know what to expect. Typically, I go to malls or shop online.  However, I have been following vintage Instagram accounts that resale vintage thrifted items so I had an idea of what I was looking for. 

After a quick Google search, I took a trip to the nearest thrift store in my area, the Goodwill location on De Anza Blvd. After rummaging through the racks of men’s clothing that they offered, I did not find much that appealed to me 一 many formal shirts, sport coats, polos and a couple tees that I did not have much interest in.

 Something that did strike me during my first experience though was the prices of some of the items. I knew that these items would be cheaper than their brand new counterparts, but not by the margin that I expected. One of these items was a white Vineyard Vines polo for $5, a shirt that originally cost around $50-$80 new. 

Moving on, a little disappointed that I was unable to find something I liked at the first location, I drove to another Goodwill location, located in the Westgate shopping area. Luckily, the store offered more racks of clothing. 

Walking along the aisles, a large, blue Yankees varsity jacket struck my attention. The nice patches on the side and the Yankees script on the front of the jacket gave the piece an unique character, and it was in good condition. Too bad I don’t watch much baseball. 

Immediately, I took the jacket off the rack and headed to the checkout line, ringing up my total to around $15. What a steal! At home, I deep cleaned the jacket, eliminating all possible traces of COVID-19 and paired it together with a nice pair of distressed black denim. 

Thrifting was a positive experience, beneficial to both my wallet and my wardrobe. The unique fade on each vintage article of clothing is something that I look forward to adding to each of my outfits.